Stardate: 2120 Location: U.S. Pluto outpost   “Charon, take this pill to your brother. He’ll feel better.” “What’s it for, Dad?” “He has a tiaravirus detected through the 100-vital-sign sensors surveilling all of us living at this outpost. A virus was detected in the blood, analyzed,...

I have vivid memories of patients dying. Some I did not know as they came through emergency room trauma. Others were within the hospital, or at home. It has never been easy. Talking and connecting with colleagues over the past month, many are greatly impacted by decisions forcing heartbreaking choices. Medicine...

I visit nursing homes once a month. With the COVID-19 crisis, they can easily be a nidus for community infection. My visiting attire now has been a mask, gloves and wife’s shower cap (which she forces me to wear). I do not don a protective gown (don’t have one), nor have I yet been advised on any...

Hospitals do not have enough PPEs (personal protective equipment – gloves, masks, gowns, shoe coverings), nor sufficient access to COVID-19 testing. When a policy is made to disallow family members from being with loved ones, it is considered inhumane. Yet, hospitals must protect patients from spreading...

I was pushing my shopping cart in an aisle near other 6-foot-socially-distant customers. Nearby was an employee stocking shelves who started coughing into her elbow for about five seconds. Like cockroaches in a kitchen when you turn on the light, everyone scattered, with carts banging into each other...

They were childhood sweethearts. Married for almost 60 years and inseparable. Their neighbor was ill and hospitalized. Because of the COVID-19 crisis and hospital policy, they could not visit. She died, alone. When I talked with them on the phone, both were ill. Cough, shortness of breath and fever....

Before they initiated a one-hour senior head start at the groceries when toilet paper disappeared, all I wanted was Gatorade. Shelves were cleared of almost everything, even things like “get-the-wrinkles-out” spray starch … gone. There were only a few Gatorade bottles left, so I grabbed 10 of...

I run … slooow. Being athletic as a youth and growing up in smoggy Los Angeles meant daily discomfort. attempting to take a deep breath. Fast-forward to today after air pollution regulations improved some of the problem. Unfortunately, the Santa Clarita Valley lies between two major freeways, generating...

I make house calls. Most of my patients are older than 65. Some are bedridden and immobile. They could be susceptible to COVID-19. Many healthcare professionals make house calls: nurses, physical and occupational therapists, wound care specialists, nutritionists, social workers, psychologists and case...

I have been in private practice in the Santa Clarita Valley for 32 years. I run a small business, have employees, pay taxes, and follow the laws that govern medical care in the state. My stock in trade has been an office with geriatric medical expertise, providing house calls in the community to improve...